Lord of the Far Island (34 page)

I said I was very tired. I had had a long day and would say good night. He held me against him and would not let me go for a time.

Then he said: ood night, sweet Ellen. Don be afraid of your emotions. I never thought you would be. Don be afraid to love. It will be a wonderful experience, I promise you.

I said very firmly: ood night, Jago.And I went up to my room. Immediately the uneasy thoughts were with me. I could hear the wind rising and I went to the window and looked out on a sea just visible in starlight. The waves were beginning to have that white-crested ruffled look.

Could I believe him? I asked myself. Could it possibly be true that the Carringtons had known I was heiress to a large fortune? Not Philip. I would not believe that of Philip. They had accepted me almost eagerly, it was true. I was sure Philip was without guile, but would his clever family use him?

It was inevitable that night that I should dream the dream. There was the room againore familiar than ever now that I had seen it so often in my mother sketchbook. I could hear the whispering voices and my eyes were fixed on the door. It was slowly opening and there came to me the terrible realization that doom was just on the other side of the door.

The next day I avoided Jago. I told myself I must be alone to sort out my thoughts. The cool practical side of my nature must take command and assess the situation as an outsider would, unaffected by emotion.

That side of me summed up the situation. He came to London without saying who he was; he came to the house in Finlay Square; when Philip died he asked you here. That was reasonable enough, but why did he not say I was heiress to the Island? Perhaps he feared I would sell it. He wanted me to love the Island. And he had not said who he was because he did not want the Carringtons to know. It seemed wildly implausible when he was not there to look at me so earnestly with such love in his eyes. He had asked me to marry him, implying that it was purely out of love for me, but how much was love for the Island?

Then Ellen in loveor I had come to the conclusion that that was what I must beook over: He likes to do strange things. He can bear to act as ordinary people do. He wanted to see me and came to Finlay Square because he was curious about the sort of house we were getting perhaps, and most of all to talk to me alone. Rollo came and interrupted us then and cut short that interview. When Philip was killed he asked me here, which was natural enough, and it was possible that a girl who had lived mainly in London would very probably consider selling a remote island which she had inherited. It was true that the place grew on one; it had grown on me.

Yes, yes, said Ellen in love. I can understand it in a way.

I came out of the castle and climbed to the top of one of the hills from where I could look down and see most of the Island. How beautiful it wasery green touched with the gold of the gorse bushes; the houses with their orange roofs were enchanting and brooding over it all were the stone walls of the medieval edifice which had housed Kellaways for hundreds of years.

And this would soon be mine.

A man was slowly climbing the hill. There was something familiar about him. It couldn be. I must be dreaming. But how like

ollo!I cried.

es,he said, oue surprised. I thought I find you somewhere.

ow did you get here?

y boat from the mainland. I staying at the local inn on the Island for a night or two. I have business in Truro and I thought I look you up on the way down. Esmeralda gave me the details.

see.

e come to ask you to forgive me,he said. afraid I was quite obnoxious the last time we met.

think we were all distraught.

t was so sudden so unexpected. Ie suffered many a qualm of conscience. After all, it was worse for you than for any of us.

here was never any light on the matter?

othing. Now I look at it more calmly. I just can believe he killed himself.

could never believe it. I think the gun must have gone off accidentally when Philip was cleaning it.

here was no evidence that he was cleaning it.

here must be a mistake, but I don suppose we shall ever know.

had to come and see you, Ellen, because I wanted to ask you to forgive me.

do understand. I know what a great shock it must have been to you. Please don worry about what you said to me. It was absolutely untrue. There were no quarrels between us.

was more and more sure of this as time passed.

o do forget what you said. I am so glad that you no longer believe that I am responsible. How is Lady Emily?

ust the same as ever. She often speaks of you. We don see a great deal of your cousin family now. Esmeralda is on the point of becoming engaged to Frederick Bellings. She seemed very happy and contented when I last saw her. I understand you had an accident not long ago. I was talking to the landlady of the inn and she told me.

h, how these things go round. I suppose the servants talked. Yes, my boat overturned.

ow did that happen?

ow do these things happen? I suddenly noticed the boat was leaking. A boy from the castle fortunately saw me and came to the rescue and then Jago Kellaway came out and completed it.

id you discover what was wrong with the boat?

here was obviously a hole in it.

ow did that come about?

t a mystery and was nearly fatal to me. I don swim very well and was hampered by my clothes. I don think I stood much chance of reaching the shore.

hat a terrible thing! I see it has little effect on you though. What about the boat? Was that brought in?

he boat hasn come in yet.

suppose it won now.

should hardly think so.

o I have to congratulate you on your escape. My dear Ellen, you are not accident prone, are you? I remember something about your falling from a cliff. That was just after Philip death. I expect you weren as careful as you should have been on that occasion. It was at Dead Man Leap, wasn it? A dangerous spot.

hat was a terrifying experience. Yes, it does seem as you say that I might be accident prone.

He smiled and laid a hand over mine as it lay on the grass.

ou must take greater care obviously, Ellen. Examine your boats before you go out in them and for heaven sake don go near the edges of cliffs. Tell me, do you like being here? Are you going to stay long?

t seems to have become my home and I never had a real home before, you know. I could hardly call Cousin Agatha house that. This place grows on me. I like it more and more every day.

t a rich island, I imagine. The agriculture seems in good form. A very profitable little place. The view from the highest peak is superb. Ie been up there to have a look. I was going up there now. Come with me, if you have half an hour to spare.

like to.

plan to leave today. I did try to find you yesterday. My main idea was to apologize to you.

t good of you to come out of your way. I daresay you are very busy.

s always,he answered, and seeing him there made me think that Jago notion that the Carringtons were after my little fortune was absurd. thought I take the opportunity this Truro trip offered and I glad I did.

glad too. If you see Esmeralda please tell her that I often think of her and that I expect to hear all about her engagement.

will do that.

We had started to climb and now we were high above sea level.

ou should be careful here,said Rollo. ne slip and you could go hurtling down.

very surefooted.

ou weren on another occasion.

hat was when the rail gave way. Nothing to do with being surefooted. In any case I extra careful now. Look, there old Tassie down there. She gathering limpets, crabs or something to make her concoctions.

he looks like a disreputable old crone.

hope she hasn heard that. She ill-wish you. Oh, she seen us.I waved a hand.

ood day to e, Miss Kellaway,she called. ow be you then?

ery well, Tassie,I replied, nd you too I trust.

She nodded and went on her way.

hatever she gathering will go into a love potion for some love-sick girl,I said, r perhaps it will cure someone warts or sties.

t seems to me you lead a very colorful life on this island. Did she see me with you, do you think?

ertainly she did. Old Tassie sees everything. I think, probably, that why her prophecies come true. She keeps her eyes open.

We went down the slope to the spot where I had seen Rollo. He took my hand in his and said: o I am forgiven? I can go on my way with a good conscience.

I nodded. hank you for coming,I said. ould you like to call at the castle?

He shook his head. o. I have to leave shortly. I just came to see you. If I have time I might call again on my way back.

hat would be pleasant,I said.

As we went our different wayse to the inn, I to the castle thought of Jago suggestion that the Carringtons needed money to bolster up their empire. That seemed quite ridiculous. What a strange day it had been! And Rollo coming had taken me right back to the days of my engagement to Philip.

It was two days later when Slack came to me in a state of great excitement.

iss Ellen,he said, he have come in. The Ellen have come in.

here is she, Slack?

he in the cove. I dragged her there and hid her like.

hy hide her?I asked.

The bewildered look came into his eyes. don rightly know, Miss Ellen. were like I were told.

oes nobody know the boat has come in except you?

He nodded. were watching for her. I saw her out there bobbing on the water and I swam out to her and brought her in. I brought her to my special cove where nobody goes much. She there now. Come and look. I have something to show you and it something I don like. But we got to look at it, all the same.

He led the way down to the shore. It was a spot I had not been to before and I guessed that it was often cut off by the tide. There lay the boat.

hat not the Ellen,I said at once.

Tis and all.

here her name? This one has no name at all.

He looked suddenly sly. painted her out,he said.

hy?

He scratched his head and looked lost again. can rightly say. It seemed best.

hy are you so mysterious, Slack?I asked.

ook e here, Miss Ellen.

He directed my gaze to the bottom of the boat. A hole was bored there.

ow could it have got there?I asked.

He seemed to read my thoughts, for he answered: is only one way her got there, Miss Ellen. Someone bored a hole in her. You did talk of sugar. Well, if a hole were bored and packed tight with sugar would take a little time to dissolve and that what it did. is clear as daylight on a summer day.

I can bear it, I thought, as I tried to shut out the suspicious thoughts which kept coming into my mind. Someone had bored a hole in the boaty boat, which only I took out. Someone knew I was not a strong swimmer, someone took a chance that I would go out in that boat alone and would not come back alive.

I stood there staring at the hole and then I was aware of Slack beside me gently laying a hand on my arm.

iss Ellen,he said, f you do be in trouble will e come to me? Maybe the Power will let me help you. Miss Silva used to talk to me. Will you, Miss Ellen?

hank you, Slack,I said. glad youe my friend.

There was no turning away from the fact which was staring me in the face.

Someone wanted me out of the way so badly that he or she had attempted to kill me.

In the Dungeons

Fear was stalking me. I was certain now that my life was in danger. One possibility occurred to me and it seemed the most likely. Illogically I refused to examine it; I conjured up all sorts of reasons why it could not be true and I refused to listen to the voice of reason within me.

And there has to be a reason, hasn there? If some person unknown wants another person out of the way it can only mean that the removal of one brings gain to the other. Could this beautiful, fertile Island be the answer? It was miner soon to bend someone else wanted it. I wouldn accept that.

You fool, said my practical self, you mean you don want to accept it. You won face facts. If you were out of the way it would be his.

But he loves me. He has asked me to marry him.

Yes, and you want to. You want to so much that you deliberately shut your eyes to the truth.

If he married me, he would have a share in the Island.

If you died, it would be entirely his.

It nonsense, I thought. Just because I went out in a boat

Then I pictured Slack face, his eyes bewildered and anxious. Slack knew more than he would admit and this was his way of warning me.

I could not get Silva out of my mind. Was her story in some way connected with mine? What had happened to her? If she were only here and could tell me!

I went to that room on the ground floor which led from the hall and which my mother had used and in which I had found her sketchbook. There was a certain comfort in sitting on the old settle and thinking about my mother, who had run away, taking me with hernd thinking of Silva too.

How unhappy Silva must have been when she took the boat out! Was it really a gesture, as the threat to throw herself from the castle walls had been? It was frustrated love. I gathered that much from the notebooks. For the first time in her life she was loved or deceived into thinking she was.

Could it have been that someone had pretended to be in love with her perhaps because she was her father daughter his eldest daughter, who it was thought would inherit the Island; and had that someone discovered that my father doubted whether she was his daughter and had left the Island to someone else myself?

Jago face rose before me, intense, passionate, those heavy-lidded eyes which were not always easy to understand. He fascinated me and excited me; I wanted to be with him, to learn the truth about himo matter how dangerous that might prove to be. I had always been adventurous and never one to take the safe road; and now it was as though Jago was beckoning me to go to him, to discover how far my suspicions were rooted in truth, to find the vital answer to the question: Does he want me or the Island? The answer to that might be that he wanted us both, which I knew he would freely admit. The real question was: Did he want to be the sole possessor of the Island? What did I really know of Jago except the overwhelming truth that he was exciting to know!